On 19 April 2017, the Brontë Society and Ilkley Literature Festival hosted a very special evening with writer and producer Sally Wainwright and Principal Curator of the Brontë Society Ann Dinsdale. From Sparkhouse (2002) to To Walk Invisible (2016), Sally and Ann traced their fascination with the world’s most absorbing literary family and discussed the months of work that went into Wainwright’s hugely successful biopic, from early script research through to casting, set design and filming. The evening was recorded for posterity, and the audio can be streamed above.

Sally Wainwright was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. She is a BAFTA award-winning writer and director, whose work includes At Home With the Braithwaites (2000); Scott & Bailey (2011); Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and Happy Valley (2014). To Walk Invisible aired to great acclaim in December 2016.

Ann Dinsdale is Principal Curator at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where she has worked for over twenty five years. She has written extensively on the Brontë family and her works include The Brontës at Haworth (2006) and At Home with the Brontës (2013).